PutItOn.com launches online film festival for undiscovered artists

MUMBAI: PutItOn.com, an online portal enabling artists from four artistic disciplines to display their talents and gain worldwide exposure, has kicked-off its first annual film festival, The PutItOn Picture Show.

The film festival is open for entries until 26 November and allows artists worldwide to compete. The festival marries PutItOn.com’s web-based platform with the spirit of creativity fostered in a film competition.

"We are excited to launch The PutItOn Picture Show in partnership with the New York Film Academy. This festival is an important part of our vision for creating a grassroots path for emerging artists around the world to take their work from the ‘garage’ to the global marketplace. PutItOn.com’s web platform was designed by artists for artists and it is intended to help foster the next generation of creative leaders," said PutItOn.com co-founder Max Fraser.

PutItOn.com is accessible in 10 languages and offers users one free GB of virtual storage space, no transaction charges when purchasing or selling work, online chat and the ability to live stream audio and video. A cutting-edge mobile application will be available across five platforms in the early part of August.

The PutItOn Picture Show is co-sponsored by the New York Film Academy and is open to artists around the globe. Each entrant is allowed to submit one film into the contest. Prizes will be awarded for Best Feature, Best Short and Best Achievement in Acting.

The first round of the competition for best feature film and best short film will be decided by a global Internet vote, which will narrow the entries to a list of the top 10 finalists per category. At the second and final stage of the competition, the finalists for these two categories will be judged by a panel made up of one member of The New York Film Academy, Max Fraser, and an industry professional yet to be named. The award for best achievement in acting will be decided separately by the panel of judges, with all submissions automatically entered for consideration.

The competition opens 30 July and closes for entries on 26 November. Internet voting will continue until 17 December. Winners will be selected and announced on 7 January, 2010.

Winners in each category will receive a two-tiered prize: a free scholarship to the New York Film Academy and a cash prize of $5,000. The second place winners in the best feature film and short film categories will each receive an HD Prosumer digital video camera.

In addition to the film festival, PutItOn currently has plans to launch a US-based online song competition at the end of August.